Monday, July 11, 2016

The Curious Creamery Ice Cream Mix

[New for 2016] Back in the fall of 2014, a kickstarter campaign was launched to create "a NEW way to make real, premium ice cream in any flavor - at home or anywhere - in a matter of minutes WITHOUT an ice cream machine." I want to say I remember that campaign but I had forgotten about it until The Curious Creamery reached out to me about a month ago and offered up some free samples to help celebrate national ice cream month.

I like the packaging. It's old-timey, but still fairly crisp like modern design. Now each container comes with two pouches of ice cream mix. There is "ultra filtered skim milk powder" in the mix, but it's up to you which ice cold liquid you blend it with. I am going to be simple on this first try and super chill 3/4 cup of 2% milk (and then completely space out cleaning up some old pictures). Ok, milk is now partially frozen so I think we are good. I'm choosing milk since that should give us the best results right? We can get more crazy on mix bag #2.

So you pour whatever liquid in to the container, pour in the powder and then whisk away. Once it's near the appropriate mark, we can get crazy with the mix-ins. Now what flavor do I want to make? Part of me thinks I should just do straight vanilla but the other part of me wants to go cookies and cream.

Ofcourse, the marketing materials talk about being "bravely curious". You know I can get crazy, but I don't want to be foolish crazy on my first attempt. Wait, I just remembered they sent over their "campfire creation" recipe, so let's do that! Milk, mix, graham cracker crumbs, chopped up mini marshmallows and mini chocolate chips. Let's do this!

I started off with only using one of the whisks in fear of damaging the container, but when progress seemed slow, I added in the second whisk and they fit fine. All in all, I whisked for ten minutes. I was going to say that it didn't whip up as much as expected, but I did actually make it up to the line, at least with all the mix-ins added in.

Now for the hard part: waiting! Did I mention I tried the results before throwing it in the freezer? All the whipping has made it quite warm, but basically it tastes like whipped cream. Yes, I realize that sounds stupid.

We're about two hours in to the freezing process and it looks like we won't be truly trying this until it's time for my last snack of the day. Back in to the freezer!

We're at the four hour mark now and all but the core has solidified. Solidified might be a strong word. Right now it's a lot like marshmallow, though that impression is probably being exacerbated by the marshmallows. So far I do like the flavor, but it looks like we'll be sampling this one for breakfast tomorrow.

I sampled and enjoyed in the morning, but then properly tested after dinner. It's a soft ice cream as I have apparently whipped way too much air in to it, but I like it. I love graham flavored ice cream so it's an easy sale to me. Yes the marshmallows rose to the top and the chocolate chips sank to the bottom, but now that I know that can happen maybe I can remember to stir the mix after it's been in the freezer for a bit next time. Note: the directions (which I apparently skimmed over too fast) say to freeze for an hour and then put in the heavier mix-ins. I'd also probably amp up the graham factor a bit but that was my fault for haphazardly throwing it in. My only (non)complaint is that I have to wait for it to freeze, and you know I hate to wait!

On Second Scoop: I wasn't going to post this review until I broke in to the second mix bag but I had a thought. Am I really reviewing the ice cream (which is going to vary wildly based on who makes it), or am I really just reviewing the fun factor? Well, I don't need to make another container of ice cream to know I had fun. Sure, I made a mess because I'm me, but I have a cabinet full of potential possibilities. Cereal ice creams, cookie ice creams, heck, I could even go with a pretzel or chip ice cream. I love the possibilities here. If you are interested in trying it yourself, their retailer list is here. [I'll be trying to cake mix in the coming weeks]

Verdict? #FunFactorBuy Again? yup!

Note: I wasn't on the latest episode of the Nosh Show, but you can catch it here.

First of all, this is NOT the first make at home ice cream treat that doesn't need a machine. Second, it's way to complicated, even though it comes in a fancy cute box. Third, it's a flop!! Mine never did set up, not even after three days in the ice cube tub. Hands down, Junket ice cream mix has it beat. And it's been around from the 60"s, maybe before. And it's easy.